Guild of Project Controls: Compendium | Roles | Assessment | Certifications | Membership

Tips on using this forum..

(1) Explain your problem, don't simply post "This isn't working". What were you doing when you faced the problem? What have you tried to resolve - did you look for a solution using "Search" ? Has it happened just once or several times?

(2) It's also good to get feedback when a solution is found, return to the original post to explain how it was resolved so that more people can also use the results.

New Project Manager

14 replies [Last post]
Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear All

I want to share my views and your comments as well. We have a new project manager after a gap of more than one month. The project at status the moment

1-      Progress percentage around 53%

2-      13 months behind the schedule

3-      Project revised finish date is 30th June 2013 and its 22nd June 2013 today

4-      Waiting for the response to our 4th EOT claim

5-     ...

6-      ...

7-      ....

8-     ...

9-     ...

Off course the higher management must have briefed him the scope but, being a planner, I was thing that I would be the first one whom he would like to see on the site. Instead, he met the people in the order below

1-      Construction manager

2-      Project Engineers

3-      Procurement officer

4-      QS

5-      QA/QC Manager

6-      The Engineer

7-      The Client’s Representative

8-      Site engineers

9-      Foremen (charge hands)

10-   Me (the planner)

I was the last whom he met. After a short introduction he asked me to give him

1-      A list of activities that we can execute, the activities we have all the resources available (manpower, material, logistics and petty cash)

2-      Drawings Submittal Log, Material Submittal Log and Procurement log

by tomorrow morning. He didn’t ask me to give the contractual program (baseline / clause 14 program) or the working / recovery program.

I was very surprised as to why he didn’t ask for the program. But when I think over it I realized that he was right. We are 13 month behind contractual program, even the recovery program has also failed. The only thing we must concentrate on is what we can do / finis immediately or as soon as possible.

QUESTION:

1-      Am I right

2-      If not what should be his approach

3-      If I am right, what are the more benefits of this approach

4-      Your comments on his approach

5-      What more he (or we or me) can do

Replies

Ali Osama
User offline. Last seen 3 years 50 weeks ago. Offline
Joined: 19 Dec 2017
Posts: 39
Groups: None
PMP Certification Quiz (Q & A)

 

https://bibloteka.com/pmp-certification-quiz-q-a/

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear Mr. Devaux

Thank you very much for much a useful information and your continuous guidance. I think I will start this job by some where next week, and off course, will keep you informed to be myself on the track.

Cheers - Tanveer

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Hi Vladimir

Thank you for you advice, sure I will download that

Tanveer,

if you will decide to buy Spider Project you will not need anything else. It does everything you may need for project and portfolio management. Demo version may be downloaded from www.spiderproject.com and you may ask any questions at Spider Project forum here.

Best Regards,

Vladimir

Stephen Devaux
User offline. Last seen 14 weeks 2 days ago. Offline
Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 667

Hi, Tanveer.

First, please understand that these three software companies that compute drag are entirely independent of me, so I do not keep close track of what they cost or how they are supported. But the three are:

  • Spider Project, one of whose executives is very active PlanningPlanet member Vladimir Liberzon.
  • InterPlan Systems, one of whose executives is very active PlanningPlanet member Bernard Ertl and who recently posted this announcement of drag computation functionality in its newest release.
  • Sumatra.com's add-on to MS Project 2007, which you should be able to find at the Sumatra.com website. (I tried to access the site just now, but it seems to be down.)

It is very important, before you compute drag, that you and your client arrive at an estimate of the value/cost of time: what is it worth for every week earlier or later that the project finishes. If your client is uncooperative in doing this, I recommend your using a clearly conservative estimate: be able to say "The very LEAST that it could be worth to pull in the schedule and avoid LDs (plus increased cost due to overhead!) is $X per day. Can we agree on that?"

Then:

  1. Compute the drag on each CP activity in the CURRENT schedule.
  2. Use the conservative estimate to compute drag cost and true cost for each CP activity.
  3. Optimize the schedule by both fast tracking and crashing, making sure that if you add resources to any activity to reduce its drag that its true cost is also reduced.
  4. When the CP changes, compute the drags again with the new CP. Rinse and repeat.
  5. When you have a schedule that is as improved as possible in terms of value-above-cost, save it and show your clients how much more profitable they can be if they implement the plan that your knowledge and skill have engineered.   

Good luck, Tanveer, and please let me know how it goes.

Fraternally in project management,

Steve the Bajan

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear Mr. Devaux

If you please tell me the software name you mentioned in your post. I am preparing presentation for my management to convince my management to buy EPPM-R8 & a Drag calculating software.

Tanveer

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear Mr. Tastro

Thank you very much for your support and guidance. I have more then 30 year’s corporate experience in operation & maintenance and site execution, but in planning, well, when I am in my company I am very much confident but on this forum I think of myself a child. I really appreciate your support and guidance that really boost my moral and confidence up.

Cheers - Tanveer

Mike Testro
User offline. Last seen 1 week 4 days ago. Offline
Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 4418

Hi Tanveer.

Don't give up!

We all get despondent when faced with seemingly impossible problems and it is easy to lose heart.

At the moment you are too close to the problem to see any solution.

My advice is to step back - take a short break - relax and get some sleep.

Do something that you enjoy doing.

Then take another look at the situation with fresh eyes and the way through will be obvious.

You must support your new project manager with best planning practice and then maybe the inbuilt attitude to planners will change.

Good luck

Mike Testro

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear Mr. Devaux

Thank you very much for your support and advice. I have read your articles and believe that I understand what Drag is and how this can help us saving yourself running out of time, but as many of other companies here in the ME my company also do not really believe in planning and hire the planners just to full fill the contractual requirements only. Sir, I do like finding solutions, but unfortunately I become exhausted & disheartened when the results are not in favor, I start thinking that I am nobody to do this. I cannot say whether it is due to lack of confidence or lack of knowledge. What I will try the way you mentioned coz this is the only way I can do this and I will also try my management to buy the software. Dear Sir, I told you my constraints so please don’t think that the solution you gave did not satisfy me.

I am also planning to appear in the PMP’s examination before the July 31st this year.

Cheers - Tanveer

Stephen Devaux
User offline. Last seen 14 weeks 2 days ago. Offline
Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 667

Hi, Tanveer.

I'd guess your alternatives are these:

  1. Learn how to do the computations yourself. I've done drag computations "manually" for networks of about 3,000 activities with the network diagram printed out and taped to the walls of my basement. It included complex dependencies and took me about four hours and was great fun (provided you are the sort of person who finds sudokus or chess problems fun!). The articles to which I linked in the previous post explain how to compute drag in simple (all FS with no lags) networks. Also, here is the drag computation quiz I posted in PlanningPlanet a couple of years ago, and here are the answers and explanation. For complex dependencies, you'll either have to buy my 1999 book Total Project Control or sign up to attend the PMI Scheduling Community of Practice webinar I'm presenting on July 10th.
  2. Persuade your company to buy software that computes drag. This includes Spider Project, InterPlan Systems, and the Sumatra.com add-on to MS Project. Ask your company how many minutes (or seconds!) worth of LDs you'd have to save in order to pay for the software. Then point out how the LDs saved by cutting in half the drag of just ONE of your critical path activities (say, from 10D to 5D) would save many, many times the cost of the software!
  3. Contact the distributors of the software you are currently using and demand that they implement a drag computation algorithm immediately.

If none of the above solutions is satisfactory, then I'm afraid that what you are looking for is not an easy solution -- it's an effortless solution. And I'm afraid I don't have one of those.

Fraternally in project management,

Steve the Bajan

 

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear Mr. Devaux

Thank you very much for useful adivse, I will certainly do that, my current schhedule has around 2600 activities and more then 200 in the critical path can you tel some easy way to calculate drag, I mean with using any drag calculation software coz my company is not interested in buying any of such software.

Cheera - Tanveer

Stephen Devaux
User offline. Last seen 14 weeks 2 days ago. Offline
Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 667

Hi, Tanveer.

Whenever trying to recover schedule, your steps should be, in order:

1. Compute the drag of all current critical path activities, based on remaining durations.

2. Compute the likely drag cost (based on estimated LDs or forfeited early delivery incentives) of all current critical path activities, based on remaining durations.

3. Present the drag information to the project team, including subcontractors, show them where big drags are costing you the most time, and ask them to suggest schedule changes/alternatives to reduce drag.

4. When the critical path changes, compute the drags of the new CP activities.

5. Rinse and repeat until you have  schedule that either meets your goals or is as compressed as you can get it. And if it is heavily compressed, remember that you are are likely to need anywhere for 10% or 40% additional time as schedule reserve.

If you wnat to know how to compute drag, try reading this article and this article.

Good luck.

Fraternally in project management,

Steve the Bajan

 

Tanveer Ahmad Niazi
User offline. Last seen 6 years 5 days ago. Offline
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 151
Groups: GPC Qatar

Dear Mr. Testro

Thank you very much for your expert advice, I really appreciate that.

Cheers - Tanveer

Mike Testro
User offline. Last seen 1 week 4 days ago. Offline
Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 4418

Hi Tanveer

You will notice that I have removed items 5 to 9 on your first list.

You should never put such confidential information in an open forum discussion - it is a complete breach of confidence that will prejudice your EoT claims.

You did not mention the project but you are the named planner so it is easily traced.

Your new manager is doing his best to get a grip on a hopeless situation - so you should support him as best you can.

The fact that he has put the planning function so low on his priorities is self explanatory.

Best regards

Mike Testro